Current booking figures
Where 50 bookings came in a year ago, 10 are arriving today. The phrase comes from Pérez on the economic programme Ekonomus on La Voz de Lanzarote.
The forecasts from a meeting with the Sociedad para la Promoción Exterior de Lanzarote (SPEL): April 2026 likely below 80 percent occupancy, May 2026 below 70 percent. The reference point is the winter 2025/26 with 90 percent occupancy and Easter Week 2026 at 86 percent.
Not Germany, the United Kingdom
What stands out is where the drop is not coming from. For years the German market had been the island’s worry market: conservative, easily rattled, first to withdraw at any geopolitical turbulence. The Germans are not the problem this time.
Bookings from the British market are paralysed, Pérez explains in her interview with Gazette Life. This is a country, she says, that has never given up on its holidays during the uncertainty of recent years.
Iran as the trigger
The trigger, Pérez says, is the war in Iran and the price spiral for fuel and flights it has generated. The geopolitical situation translates first through the consumer’s wallet. A family in Manchester or Birmingham planning a trip sees today’s ticket prices, which were different two months ago — and waits.
Pérez concedes the situation could change over the next two months. The current state, however, is absolute restraint in the British market. If this does not change, Lanzarote could enter a period of crisis.
Why Lanzarote is particularly vulnerable
Over half of Lanzarote’s international tourists come from the United Kingdom — a higher share than on any other Canary island. Tenerife and Gran Canaria, with a broader mix of British, German, Spanish, Irish and Scandinavian visitors, can partially absorb a British drop. Lanzarote cannot.
There is also a particular feature of the island’s economics. The business model of many hotels does not depend so much on the daily rate as on volume occupancy. If 70 percent comes through instead of the projected 80, fixed costs — staff, energy, water, maintenance — do not fall by the same proportion. Margins drop disproportionately.
The political question
Pérez asks directly: what is the Patronato de Turismo waiting for? The formulation is unusually direct in the language of trade-association leadership. The background is an island tradition in which public and private hands often act in uncoordinated fashion on tourism campaigns — and pass the responsibility back and forth in a crisis.
Frequently asked questions
What is Lanzarote’s hotel occupancy in May 2026?
Lanzarote hotel bookings for May 2026 are below 70 percent. Currently one booking comes in for every five received in the same period last year.
Which market is responsible for the drop?
The British market is virtually frozen. More than half of Lanzarote’s international tourists usually come from the United Kingdom. The traditional German worry market is not the trigger this time.
What does the Iran war have to do with Lanzarote bookings?
The Iran war has triggered a price spiral for fuel and flights. Rising ticket prices lead to booking restraint in the United Kingdom — and with that to lower occupancy in Lanzarote.
Who is Susana Pérez?
Susana Pérez is the president of the Federación Turística de Lanzarote, the island’s tourism trade association.
What was Lanzarote’s occupancy in winter 2025/26?
Lanzarote’s winter 2025/26 occupancy stood at 90 percent. Easter Week 2026 reached 86 percent. May 2026 falls significantly below that, at under 70 percent.